Oct 12, 2012
Statement of Chairman Lewis J. Robinson Regarding the Resignation of President Kennedy
Board of Regents Chairman Lewis J. Robinson accepted the resignation of President Robert A. Kennedy this morning.
“I have accepted President Kennedy’s resignation, and thank him for his service. I’m sure this was not an easy decision at which to arrive, but I appreciate his willingness to put our students first. Since meeting him, I have appreciated President Kennedy’s commitment to our change agenda, his willingness to move it forward, and his commitment to the principles of an affordable, accessible higher education experience for the students in our state. I wish him the best.
“As we move forward, it’s clear we still have much further to go. Aside from the important and immediate work of reviewing the issues of the past few weeks, and formulating the policies and procedures to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again, the Board of Regents is focused on pushing the kind of change agenda that, guided by strong leadership and clear policy and process, will ensure our students are better prepared to enter the job market and play a critical role in the workforce development efforts in our state. This agenda also includes issues on which we’ve already begun to work – a seamless transfer and articulation agreement across our institutions to better enable to students to move between our schools; a reform of remedial education and a stronger partnership with our K-12 peers to help aid that, and ways in which we can invest more in the education of our students.
"I look forward to working with the Board and its new leader, and the presidents, faculty, students and staff on these and other issues.”